This invention relates to a system for enhancing ambient air quality, and more specifically is directed to a method and apparatus for sterilizing and purifying the ambient air.
Air contamination and pollution is a long-standing problem which afflicts everyone to varying degrees. In urban areas, pollution levels continue to rise. Even in rural areas, contaminants, such as mold, pollen, and bacteria, exist in the air. Air contamination presents serious long-term health risks. Contaminants also afflict persons suffering from allergies, asthma, emphysema, and many more respiratory related illnesses.
Filters have been used to remove particulate contaminants, such as smoke, dust, pollen, and lint. Filters are designed to filter out contaminants of a specific size or larger.
It is also known that ozone breaks down other contaminants, such as viruses, bacteria, mold spores. Ozone having a high energy level ("photozone") breaks up gasses and odors, and destroys pathogens.
Others have attempted with varying degrees of success to devise methods and devices for improving air quality by creating ozone. Such prior art methods and devices suffer significant disadvantages.
It is known that applying a substantial voltage between two points creates sparking, similar to lightning. The sparking reacts with ambient air to create ozone. However, this method creates a serious health risk. The heated sparks cause heated nitrogen gas to form. The heated nitrogen gas reacts with the ambient air to form nitric oxide. When nitric oxide is ingested by humans (or animals for that matter), moisture from the lung causes the nitric oxide to turn into nitric acid. Nitric acid can cause many adverse reactions.
Another known method for creating ozone employs polarized plates, one positively charged and the other negatively charged. The electric field between the polarized plates creates ozone. However, contaminates deposit on the plates over time and cause sparks which causes nitrous gasses to form with the same adverse effects described above.
It is also known that ozone can be created without forming nitrous gasses by eliminating the use of heat (known as "cold process"). By this method, ozone can be created by subjecting air (or water) to high frequency electromagnetic energy or ultraviolet (UV) light. The amount and type of ozone created depends on the wavelength and intensity of the energy source. A light source (such as a UV lamp) omits a stream of invisible packets or compressions of energy, referred to as photons or waves. The energy carried by photons increases as the wavelength shortens.
Systems have been employed to create ozone by cold process, thereby avoiding nitrous gas omission. Such systems are intended for use in homes, hospitals, and other areas where it is desirable to remove contaminants. To create ozone (or photozone) by cold process, blowers must be employed to draw air into the system and direct the air past a light source (e.g., a UV lamp). The prior art systems are disadvantageous because they are noisy and consume more energy than necessary.
Prior art purification systems also suffer disadvantage by drawing air into the system, and directing the filtered air through and out of the system along a generally linear path. Such systems cause air turbulence and minimize uniformity of air exposure to the UV light source, which decreases the efficiency of the unit and creates additional noise.